A Sicilian Vendetta: After My Men Left Me Ruined

That year, during the Sicilian arms trafficking conflict, my lover of three years, Silvio, deliberately betrayed my transport routes at a critical moment in a deal with the rival "DiMarco" family, causing me to lose all my territory.

He immediately defected to the DiMarco family's leader Marina, becoming her lover.

As he left, he didn't even bother to disguise his betrayal, coldly tossing out, "What we had was just business, nothing personal."

While I was burdened with my family's blood debts and pushed to the edge of a cliff, Lorenzo, who had secretly harbored feelings for me since childhood, found me and offered his family's entire fortune.

"Isabella, don't be afraid. In my eyes, you'll always be Sicily's most formidable Queen of the Arms Trade," he said.

He took the Colt pistol from my hand, and his voice was gentle yet resolute.

Five years later, my power resurged. I was about to completely crush Marina's smuggling network and reclaim everything I had lost.

My caporegimes, the captains of my organization, were ready and waiting for my command.

But on the night before the operation, my weapons warehouse suddenly exploded, turning priceless arms into worthless scrap metal. I barely escaped through the thick smoke, my body covered in burns.

In a secluded monastery, I overheard Lorenzo and Silvio whispering outside my door.

"You really had the guts to blow up the arsenal. Weren't you afraid of blasting her to pieces too?" Silvio's voice carried a mocking tone.

"If she died, just died. I've always loved Marina. If it weren't for that unlucky family marriage lottery five years ago, I wouldn't have had to endure this ugly bitch for all this time." Lorenzo's voice was ice-cold and unfamiliar.

I closed my eyes, feeling like a dagger had pierced my chest.

Explosion. Arranged marriage. Ugly bitch.

So those five years of shared hardship were just his unwilling choice after losing a high-stakes gamble.

"I married her to keep watch. If it weren't for me paving

So all these years, my men have been professing their undying love for me while one after another sleeping with my sworn enemy.

Lorenzo hadn't noticed I was awake yet, and continued pouring out his disgust and torment for me.

And his deep affection for Marina.

"This explosion—don't you understand? I couldn't let her destroy DiMarco. That's Marina's lifeline!"

When he finished speaking, there was a long silence from Silvio, with only the sound of suppressed breathing.

"Fine, you should leave now. And remember, though I married Isabella, I will always love Marina unconditionally!"

After Silvio left, Lorenzo pushed open the door, wearing a perfectly calibrated look of concern, as if genuinely worried about me.

"Darling? Are you awake? Are your wounds still painful?" His voice was gentle, every bit the concerned husband.

I turned away, avoiding his hand as he reached to check my forehead, my voice hoarse.

"How strange. Every time Marina and I come to a final confrontation, something unexpected always happens."

"Perhaps... that's fate.